Lutheran West to host Leadercast Cleveland

Local business leaders and other members of the community will have the opportunity to hear presentations by former First Lady Laura Bush, Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and seven other motivational speakers during Leadercast Cleveland May 9 in Lutheran West High School’s newly renovated Jochum Performing Arts Center.

This will be the second year Lutheran West’s Senny Honors Academy has hosted the event in partnership with the Rocky River Chamber of Commerce. The daylong leadership seminar will be broadcast live from Atlanta, Georgia, to hundreds of venues throughout the world.

Lutheran West will be the only local site sponsoring the event.

The theme of building leadership skills by focusing outward rather than in will be addressed in lectures of about 20 minutes each by Bush and Tutu as well as Bill McDermott, co-CEO of SAP AG, a multinational software corporation; Malcom Gladwell, an award-winning staff writer for The New Yorker; Henry Cloud, a best-selling author and leadership consultant; and Randall Wallace, writer of the screenplay for “Braveheart.”

Other presenters include Laura Schroff, a former Time magazine executive who helped launch three of the company’s most successful startups, InStyle, Teen People and People Stylewatch; Simon Sinek, well-known for his TED (Technology, Entertainment Design) presentations; and Andy Stanley, co-founder of North Point Community Church, the second largest church in the United States.

The event is also the culmination of the Senny Honors Academy’s speaker’s series, which brings well-known local personalities such as motivational speaker Connie Dieken and MetroHealth CEO Akram Boutros, to the school.

Tom Ford, Lutheran West director of strategic partnerships, said that Leadercast is especially beneficial to teams for various organizations because it offers a common point of discussion. He added that the inaugural event last year was so successful that attendees are registering for this year, and bringing co-workers and others with them. Some groups, he noted, included more than a dozen people.

Rocky River Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Liz Manning said, “(The) Rocky River Chamber is proud to partner with Lutheran West on Leadercast. It’s a top-notch event for all professionals. I attended last year and was so impressed. It’s inspiring, educational, motivating and entertaining. It’s well worth the day away from the office to recharge.”

Tickets for the event are available only in advance. Prices, which include lunch, are $99 for an individual, $79 each for groups of four to seven, and $59 apiece for groups of eight or more. Go to www.leadercastcleveland.com to order. For more information about the event, contact Mike Waugh, dean of the Senny Honors Academy, at mwaugh@lutheranwest.com. Chamber of Commerce members can call 440-331-1140 for a discount promotional code for $20 off of an individual ticket cost.